{"id":51477,"date":"2026-04-15T14:05:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:05:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=51477"},"modified":"2026-04-15T14:05:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:05:36","slug":"last-man-on-moon-apollo-17s-jack-schmitt-reveals-secret-in-lunar-dust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=51477","title":{"rendered":"Last man on moon, Apollo 17&#8217;s Jack Schmitt, reveals secret in lunar dust"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The last man to walk on the moon<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/12\/us-news\/whats-next-for-artemis-program-after-successful-flight-to-the-moon\/\"> says he can\u2019t explain<\/a> what it was like up there but that more and more people may learn soon enough \u2014 thanks to a trillion-dollar industry hidden in the lunar dust.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Harrison \u201cJack\u201d Schmitt, 90, an Apollo 17 astronaut who spent three days on the moon in 1972, told The Post this week that there is a superfuel locked within the lunar dust that could provide Earth with an abundance of clean and safe energy for generations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been working on this for many decades \u2014 harvesting the light isotope of helium-3 from the moon,\u201d said Schmitt, who is from New Mexico and lives in Albuquerque.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Harrison \u201cJack\u201d Schmitt stands on the moon during 1972\u2019s Apollo 17 mission. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been working on this since the mid \u201980s, and this was the first time where I\u2019ve really been convinced that there\u2019s a viable business case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/10\/us-news\/artemis-ii-splashes-down-completing-historic-lunar-mission\/\">said seeing Artemis II<\/a> recently fly four more astronauts to the moon gave him hope that the establishment of bases there \u2014 and regular flights back and forth \u2014 are closer than ever, paving the way for such a lucrative industry.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>He said he believes such frequent space travel will finally be a reality within the next few years, allowing more and more people to experience what he did in 1972.<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/08\/us-news\/artemis-ii-astronauts-wore-top-of-the-line-omega-wristwatches-around-the-moon-and-one-slipped-on-an-old-school-nasa-icon\/\">said he himself struggles to convey<\/a> what it was like to walk on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost impossible to transfer the experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut one analogy would be, if you\u2019ve ever been to the Grand Canyon and you walk up to the rim, and you see it for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s sort of that kind of a experience, where being there is the essential human ingredient.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Schmitt, 90, is still active in lunar research, even founding the company Internlune to develop lunar energy technologies. <span class=\"credit\">Houston Chronicle via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Schmitt, a field geologist, was the first scientist to walk on the moon. <span class=\"credit\">Bettmann Archive<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI studied what other missions had done, I helped train the people, I heard the debriefings and everything like that \u2014 but it\u2019s nothing like being there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/07\/us-news\/stellar-artemis-ii-photos-taken-with-old-model-nikon-worth-about-1000\/\">is one of just 12 humans<\/a> to ever walk on the moon, and four who are still alive. Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke and David Scott are also all in their 90s.<\/p>\n<p>Since his Apollo 17 commander, Gene Cernan, died in 2017, Schmidt has been the last man alive to step off the lunar surface.<\/p>\n<p>He also stands out for another reason: Unlike the other Apollo astronauts, who came from the military, Schmitt was a geologist and the only trained scientist to make the historic trip.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Schmitt sits aboard a lunar rover, which allowed him to cover swaths of the moon\u2019s Taurus\u2013Littrow valley. <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He was first selected as an astronaut in 1965 after developing a NASA program to teach field geology to lunar explorers, which would become one of their primary objectives on the moon.<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt worked directly with every Apollo mission from 8 through 13, until he began training as a backup crewmember for 15.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He was then squeezed onto the prime crew for Apollo 17 when budget cuts canceled missions 18 through 20.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt said Artemis II further fueled his love of all things lunar.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Apollo 17 Cmdr. Gene Cernan and Schmitt float in zero gravity in deep space in 1972. <span class=\"credit\">HUM Images\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s great to see these folks not only enjoying themselves but getting a whole bunch of new information about the far side of the moon,\u201d Schmitt said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s very, very important to get the momentum again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe question is, will that momentum keep going forward?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schmitt says he believes it will through a viable business model for interlunar travel \u2014 fueled by an industry involving the reaping of helium-3.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Schmitt grins inside the lunar module shortly after he and Cernan stepped off the lunar surface for the last time. <span class=\"credit\">Eugene A. Cernan\/NASA<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Helium-3 is a key ingredient needed to run nuclear fusion reactors, which operate with extreme efficiency and without the dangerous radioactive waste today\u2019s fission-based power plants create.<\/p>\n<p>But helium-3 is extremely rare on Earth \u2014 so rare that it\u2019s rationed by the federal government \u2014 meaning fusion reactors have never been viable on a large scale.<\/p>\n<p>But the moon is believed to be ripe with it, since the sun has been bombarding its atmosphere-free surface with the isotope for billions of years and building it up in the grey lunar dust.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Post front page from April 2, 2026, the recent tale of Artemis II.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Harvesting it could be a trillion-dollar industry providing humanity with clean and safe energy for generations, Schmitt said.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, he co-founded a business, Interlune, that\u2019s developing the technologies to make it happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think the business case has finally made it,\u201d Schmitt said, explaining the process of extracting helium-3 from moondust is more akin to agricultural harvesting than mining.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Schmitt hopes lunar travel will unlock Earth-changing technologies and let more and more people visit the moon. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe think that certainly by the mid-2030s, if not sooner, we should be bringing shipments of helium-3 back to Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said his trip to the moon only \u201creinforced\u201d his beliefs in the power of science.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very fortunate, privileged to have been involved,\u201d the astronaut said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/15\/science\/last-man-on-moon-apollo-17s-jack-schmitt-reveals-secret-in-lunar-dust\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last man to walk on the moon says he can\u2019t explain what it was like up there but that more and more people may learn&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}